Can a Yid ride/pull a rickshaw on Shabbos?
Answer:
To pull a rickshaw in the public domain involves a prohibition of carrying. Although when a person is inside this would not be a Torah prohibition, it is nonetheless prohibited. To ride a rickshaw is likewise prohibited on account of the ‘carrying’ involved.
If the rickshaw is in a place with an eruv, the rickshaw will probably be comparable to a bicycle. Although the Ben Ish Chai (Rav Pe’alim, Orach Chaim 25) was lenient concerning bicycles, the consensus of modern day authorities is to prohibit riding a bicycle for a number of reasons: 1) Out of concern that a person might leave the techum Shabbos; 2) Because it is a weekday matter (uvdin de-chol), and also violates the spirit of the Shabbos; 3) Out of concern that a person might fix the bicycle, such as pumping up the tires or fixing the chain. [See Tzitz Eliezer Vol. 1, no. 21, sec. 27; Yabia Omer Vol. 7, no. 37, sec. 3.]
These concerns will apply to a rickshaw, which should therefore not be used on Shabbos even where there is an eruv.
